I have been so focused on Ha Long Bay that I was totally unprepared for the amazing experience of Ha Long City itself. Some of the recent incredible aspects of the city that have evolved over the recent years makes this place a wonderful multi-experience encounter.

Our second day in the Bay consisted of another boat tour, but this time to the eastern side of the bay which is farther but much less crowded. We also got a chance to kayak from a remote fishing village. Along our way back, we stopped at one of the many caves for a quick peak. It was absolutely amazing. Such a surprise treat to go spelunking in this most fascinating of places. My words are truly inadequate to describe the incredible experiences of today.

Finally...we arrive at Ha Long Bay. It was surreal. The temperature dropped more than 10 degrees from being in the mid 30s to below 20 degrees C. we arrived after lunch in a foggy drizzly day. As this was my "bucket list" destination, I was in awe from when we first arrived in the bay, which is for more enormous than I had ever thought. We had organized a brief 2 hour afternoon cruise of the bay, which was fantastic but a little disappointing in the fact there must have been over 40 ships plying the same waters. It was literally bumper...

March 7th was a another sea day and today march 8th we arrived in Da Nang. Today's tour consisted of;
Photo stop at the Marble Mount with its arch and pagoda high up on a hill
Visit to the Cham museum (ancient people of south Vietnam)
A stop at the marble factory
Guided tour and free time in Hoi An village - a charming UNESCO site including a silk factory
A quick stop to dip our toes in the water at China Beach
And another sumptuous lunch

After surviving our epic 7 hour tour yesterday, with our recovery including a long shower followed by cocktails and another light al fresco meal on the ship deck. We embarked on a tour highlighting the more traditional life of the people of the Mekong Delta. This tour described the first stop to yet another pagoda, which turned out to more a Disney version of a Buddha theme Park
(Alert History lesson follows):
The 8 days of the week Buddha include:
Sunday: The mental insight Buddha
Monday: The Protection Buddha
Tuesday: The Reclining...

Hi All: Note that yesterday was a sea day so not much to report, just in case you were thinking that I missed a day. Today we arrived in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh city, which interestingly a moniker that none of the locals use).
Another whirlwind bus tour that turned out to bit rather exhausting due to the heat, humidity and no scheduled refreshment stops.
We toured the history museum, and were entertained with a traditional water puppet show. Additional stops included Notre Dame Cathedral that looks like a slightly smaller version of its sister...

We traveled 40 kilometers outside Saigon to the Cu Chi Tunnels. These are a labyrinth of intertwining tunnels the Guerrillas used to escape GI’s and travel from one site to another to fight. The tunnels were narrow and constructed for the slight build of the VC. Most of the American soldiers, except for the tunnel rats, could not follow. They were dark, unlit, zigged zag and went on for great distances. Ted crawled through a 30 meter segment and reported it was not a pleasant experience all the while wondering when it would end and he could...

We disembarked the Mekong Navigator and boarded a coach for an hour and a half drive to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. On arriving, we took a city tour, enjoying the displays of flowers being set up for the upcoming Lunar
New Year. We saw many yellow flowers that represent wealth and red ones for happiness.
We paid a short visit to the Central Post Office, with many people milling about inside and out. It was built in the late 19th century, European style. We found a very small postal counter in the large building - most of it was shops.
Next...

We went to a candy factory on the river bank. It was extremely small and was in operation mainly for the tourist trade. They demonstrated how to make puffed or popped rice. They heat up a giant pan that looks like a wok, add sand to increase the heat and pour in the rice. Stirring it, it pops and then is removed and pored through multiple filters to strain out the sand. They also had stations where they made candy and rice paper. Ted also sampled snake wine. It was terrible!
After lunch we sailed down the Mekong on our “big” sampans where...

We sailed by sampan to Gieng Island, a triangular shaped island that is 50 square miles. About 4,200 people live there, many of whom are Catholics, and the rest are Buddhists or practice HoaHao, a Buddhist sect. We visited a cottage village where about 600 craftsmen live with their families, and build sampans and boats of different sizes and types. We stopped at one family’s home, and met the father, who is 60 and has been building boats for 37 years. His son now helps him. It costs him $100 for the materials to make a boat and he sells it...

Travel day today. 1st a flight to Bangkok (old airport) and then a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. We travelled via Don Mueang airport, Bangkok's 2nd airport, which is now used by the low cost airlines to help reduce traffic in the main airport. It is still very busy.

Planes, trains and automobiles in one day! We had a short stopover in Hanoi after flying in from Hue before boarding our overnight Orient Express to SaPa in the north. We had the deluxe sleeper cabin for two. Sadly, it was NOT the luxurious and exotic Orient Express that you may be thinking of...this train was fairly rustic and shared toilet but at least it was private! We arrived into Loa Cai station at 6am, met our guide and driver then proceeded to drive 40 km uphill and harrowing switchback roads to SaPa. It was quite an investment in...